[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/M3SfSt4.png[/img][/center] [color=Violet]"You're running late, Smallville,"[/color] says Lois, her arms crossed and shooting me an impatient look as I jog up the stairs to the platform. [color=RoyalBlue]"I know,"[/color] I say as I meet her, a cup of coffee from O'Shaughnessy's in my right hand and a sausage-egg-and-cheese O'Muffin in the other. [color=RoyalBlue]"I had to grab some breakfast on the way."[/color] [color=Violet]"Wouldn't your Mom make you something?"[/color] I shrug. [color=RoyalBlue]"I didn't want to wake her up,"[/color] I say. [color=RoyalBlue]"Besides, a cross-country flight can really work up an appetite."[/color] I took it easy flying back from Smallville this morning, not pushing myself as hard as I would in an emergency. It's a luxury I haven't gotten to indulge in much lately, being able to just [i]fly[/i] and enjoy it without lives being in immediate danger. Taking the slow route, weaving back and forth to evade detection from satellite, I'm able to stretch the trip out to almost forty-five minutes instead of the usual three. Still, even taking it easy, the trip left me feeling more than a little drained. I'm still not at a hundred percent after the excitement in Central City, catching a crashing airliner and tangling with the Silver Surfer. To be honest, I haven't really had much time at all to get back up to full strength, since even without cosmic entities threatening to destroy the world, the Toyman has been running me ragged with something new seemingly every other day. Honestly, a day just hoofing it and doing my [i]actual[/i] job would probably do me some good. [color=Violet]"Well, it's honestly just as well that you didn't get here on time,"[/color] she says, a low rumble on the tracks starting to draw closer. [color=Violet]"The Whale's never on time anyway."[/color] The Cross-Bay High-Speed Rail System-- known to the locals as the "Rail Whale" due to the train's size and the track's proximity to the water-- is a massive rail system styled after the Japanese bullet-trains, stretching from Opal City through Metropolis to Gotham City and Blüdhaven. On any given day, the trains shuttle tens of thousands of commuters between the four cities, reaching speeds of about 200 miles per hour on the open straightaways. Most people thought the project was going to be a boondoggle, a waste of billions of dollars and years of construction on something that would probably never actually be completed. Thanks to substantial investments and input from LexCorp, however, the entire thing was finished in a matter of months. The train pulls into the station, its hydraulics letting out a loud hiss as the large sleek silver-blue cars slow to a halt. The doors slide open, and dozens of people begin filing out, making their way to their workplaces or wherever else the day takes them. I wolf down the last of my breakfast, then Lois and I step onto the train, and have no trouble finding seats. Once the commuters step off the train, in fact, we're the only ones in this particular car. Plenty of people live in Gotham City who work in Metropolis. A whole lot fewer do the other way around. After another minute or so, the doors on the car slide close, and a pre-recorded message plays over the train's PA. [color=LimeGreen][i]"Thank you for choosing the Cross-Bay Rail,"[/i][/color] I hear the voice of Lex Luthor say, [color=LimeGreen][i]"and I hope you'll enjoy the trip, as well as the complimentary free Wi-Fi. Don't forget to provide your feedback at the LexCorp kiosk at the station when you arrive. Next stop, Gotham City!"[/i][/color] I can feel my lip curl just a bit. I can't help but notice that Luthor only really started to ramp up his presence in Metropolis after I moved here. Nowadays I can't seem to turn around without seeing his face, hearing his voice, or reading his name in the city. While I've got nothing really to hold against him, I've heard plenty of less-than-pleasant rumors about what goes on in the deeper levels of his company. Things I'm going to have to look into sooner or later. Even if it turns out he's harmless, I can't help but find him a little annoying. [color=RoyalBlue]"So,"[/color] I say to Lois, [color=RoyalBlue]"You said you had a lead on the Toyman story?"[/color] [color=Violet]"Got a meet-up with Dr. Irons,"[/color] she nods. [color=Violet]"You remember that interview he did for that blowhard Godfrey?"[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]"Yeah, you said he was blinking in Morse Code,"[/color] I recall. [color=RoyalBlue]"His message didn't make any sense, though."[/color] Lois puts up a finger to make a point. [color=Violet]"That's what I thought, too, until I realized I was misreading it,"[/color] she says. [color=Violet]"When I picked up on what he was doing, I was reading it as [i]H-O-T T-S-C.[/i] Which, of course, is gibberish. But I was reading the letters out of order. I should've been starting with the S. [i]S-C-H-O-T-T.[/i]"[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]"So it's a name,"[/color] I conclude. [color=RoyalBlue]"Someone named 'Schott.' You think it's a suspect?"[/color] [color=Violet]"Don't know for sure,"[/color] she shrugs. [color=Violet]"I did some digging on Dr. Irons, though. Turns out he didn't found SteelWorks alone. When he started, he had a business partner, a guy by the name of Winslow Schott. They had some kind of falling out, and Schott went completely off the grid. That's all I could get from Irons over the phone, but he said he had more. He said Metropolis wasn't safe, so he suggested we meet in Gotham instead."[/color] Lois looks out the window, the skyline of Metropolis shrinking behind us as trees and buildings blur past. [color=Violet]"What exactly makes him think Gotham City is a good choice is beyond me,"[/color] she scoffs. [color=Violet]"I was hoping he'd pick somewhere a little safer. Like, say, the inside of an active volcano."[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]"That's a little unfair,"[/color] I say. [color=RoyalBlue]"I mean, sure, the city's got its problems, but I think most of the people there are just trying to get by."[/color] [color=Violet]"That's sweet, Clark, it really is,"[/color] says, [color=Violet]"but don't forget why [i]you're[/i] going on this field trip. The closest thing they've got to a super-hero is a guy who beats up cops and tries to kill a DA."[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]"Well, that's what they're saying,"[/color] I concede, [color=RoyalBlue]"but the other reason I want this story is to get past the sensationalism, find out what's really going on. Maybe there's more to the Bat-Man than people are saying."[/color] Lois considers it for a minute, then says, [color=Violet]"I saw a documentary a while back. It was about this wildlife conservationist, a well-meaning hippie-type who made it his life's work to protect the grizzly bears up in Alaska. And okay, that's a good sentiment at first, protecting the environment, saving the animals from industrialization and all that. But he has this romantic image of the bears, this idea that he can make some kind of connection with them, that they can reach an understanding."[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]"What happened?"[/color] I ask. [color=Violet]"What do you [i]think[/i] happened? A bear ate him,"[/color] she answers. [color=Violet]"Point is, not everyone you run into is going to be friendly. You've traveled around the world, like me. You've seen people do some really awful things. Sometimes a wild animal is just a wild animal. Keep that in mind while you go Bat-hunting."[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]"Hmm,"[/color] is what I manage, not really wanting to admit that she's got a good point. Things went well with the Flash, but that doesn't mean it's always going to work out that way. [color=Violet]"While we're on the subject,"[/color] she asks, [color=Violet]"you have any leads?"[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]"Just one so far,"[/color] I answer. [color=RoyalBlue]"The police captain involved in the altercation with the Bat-Man. A Captain Jim Gordon. I've done a little reading up on him; he seems to be on the level. A few commendations, seems like a pretty upstanding officer."[/color] Lois gives a mirthless chuckle. [color=Violet]"In the GCPD, that means one of two things,"[/color] she says, [color=Violet]"either his record only [i]looks[/i] clean because he's got leverage on anyone who might have dirt on him, or he's a few weeks away from having an unfortunate 'accident.'"[/color] [color=RoyalBlue]"Come on, it can't be [i]that[/i] bad."[/color] [color=Violet]"Well, one way or another, you're gonna find out soon enough,"[/color] she says as the tracks head out over the Bay. [color=Violet]"Next stop, Bear Country."[/color]